Niche market opportunities for rare livestock breeds

Extract

Some of the many pig, sheep and cattle breeds in the British Isles are present in very small numbers and in only a few locations. The names of these rare/traditional breeds often reflect the place they originated from, e.g. Gloucesteshire Old Spots pigs. They are ‘unimproved’ in the sense that they have not been bred for greater production. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) has an important role in the conservation of these breeds. The Traditional Breeds Meat Marketing Co Ltd (TBMM) developed out of RBST to market meat from them on the basis that one of the best ways to conserve breeds is to develop markets for their produce, making it financially feasible for farmers to maintain them. Consumers are often prepared to pay a higher price for the meat, which offsets higher production costs.